Thoroughly covering the "why" and "how" of validity testing with children and adolescents, this book is edited and written by leaders in the field. Feigning or noncredible effort during psychological and neuropsychological assessments can have considerable repercussions for diagnosis, treatment, and use of resources. Practical guidance is provided for detecting and managing noncredible responding, including vivid case material. The reasons that children may feign during testing are also explored. Along with information relevant to all assessment settings, the book features specific chapters on educational, medical, sport-related, forensic, and Social Security Disability contexts.

Reviews:

"This much-needed volume makes the case that validity testing must now be considered an essential component of child psychological assessments. Experts in this growing field of study summarize what is known about feigning and malingering in a variety of child clinical settings and provide indispensable guidance for practitioners. Congratulations to Kirkwood for bringing together state-of-the-art research and clinical practices. Recommended for clinicians, researchers, and students in disciplines where psychological assessment of children is a core activity, including clinical child and school psychology, neuropsychology, and forensic child psychology."--Russell A. Barkley, PhD, ABPP, ABCN, Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina

"This groundbreaking volume is an authoritative desk reference for clinicians and researchers that ushers in the nascent era of child and adolescent validity testing. Kirkwood presents a superb synthesis of knowledge that should be added to the syllabus of every graduate-level course on psychological testing. It is crucial reading for all who conduct psychological evaluations of children and adolescents, including pediatric clinical neuropsychologists, child psychologists, and school psychologists. Others who are involved in reading psychological reports or evaluating pediatric outcomes research will find important insights about pediatric test performance and interpretation."--Ida Sue Baron, PhD, ABPP, private practice, Potomac, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia

"A unique resource for all psychologists and students who do performance-based cognitive or academic assessments with children. This excellent volume brings together everything you need to know about this core topic."--Alan S. Kaufman, PhD, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine

About the Editor:

Michael W. Kirkwood, PhD, ABPP-CN, is Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is also Director of the Psychology/Neuropsychology Program in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Childrenís Hospital Colorado, and founder and Codirector of the hospitalís Concussion Program. Dr. Kirkwood is board certified in Clinical Neuropsychology and board certified as a subspecialist in Pediatric Neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and has served on multiple boards of directors and expert committees. He has conducted extensive research on traumatic brain injury and pediatric validity testing in children and teens, has lectured widely, and has published more than 50 journal articles and 10 book chapters. He is coeditor of the book Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents.